ISLAMABAD- Pakistani members of parliament spoke out against getting involved in Yemen today as they resumed a one-sided debate on a Saudi request to join a campaign against Iran-allied Houthi forces in Yemen.
"The Yemen war is not our war...Our advice to the government is that the army should not go (to Yemen)," said opposition member of parliament Shireen Mazari.
"As Muslims, we are duty bound to counter any threat to holy shrines but there is no such threat today."
Opposition Senator Tahir Hussain Mashadi said the "aggressors" were the Saudis and the victims were the Yemenis. "Now the aggressors are asking another sovereign state, Pakistan, to come to provide military aid to Saudi Arabia."
The Sunni royal family of Saudi Arabia and Iran's Shi'ite theocracy are rivals for power in the Middle East. Their competition frequently fuels sectarian violence.
Last month, a Saudi-led coalition began conducting air strikes in Yemen against Houthi rebels. Saudi Arabia and Yemen share a border and Saudi Arabia says it is afraid that instability might spill over to its territory.
Saudi Arabia wants its staunch ally, Sunni-majority Pakistan, to join the coalition, and has requested ships, aircraft and troops.